A Kings Cross State of Mind

So, here’s what sickens me about the recent Kings Cross shooting story that has been floating around the news of late: the mentalities of those reacting to the it. You hear about a story of young boys going for a joyride in a car, and then being shot by police, taken OUT of the car and beaten – the consensus? Police reacted to a violent situation in the correct manner and that will teach them a lesson. Really?

A 14-year-old boy lies in hospital today after being un-lawfully and, can I just add, without due reason, beaten senseless by the lawmakers of this country. He was charged by police for his criminal actions and the talk of the town in this lovely ol’ city is: justice is done! “Teach them hooligans in Kings Cross. Something's got to be done ta stop them!"

Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions here, but when I see people as young as 14 doing things that are harmful to others or themselves, my first thought isn’t ‘oh what a horrible person’ – my first thought ‘oh, what a horrible upbringing they must have had.’ People at that age are still trying to find their footing in the world and they act out because that’s what they are taught. Yeah, yeah you might scoff and say teenagers should know better but the reality is that they are in fact still a victim of their conditioning: so is everyone until they learn that there are options out there – adult ones.

I think what people don’t realize when they complain about the dangers of the Kings Cross area is that Kings Cross in itself is a mentality. Kings Cross is one of those parts of the world where survival is being a criminal – that’s just how it works and that’s just what you do. You have to change the area before you change the mentality otherwise like all mentalities they just continue to repeat themselves – in different ways or in the same way. But for Christ’s Sake, don’t take it out on juvenile kids who are merely repeating the washing machine cycle of the Kings Cross mentality adopted by their forebears, especially when they still have the ability to be apart of this change! Here's my message to the Sydney justice system: grow up!